Prince Charles to unveil Women's Land Army memorial

PRINCE CHARLES will meet some of the Land Girls when he unveils the £60,000 sculpture at Clochan, near Fochabers.

PRINCE CHARLES will this week unveil a memorial honouring the women who kept Britain fed during the world wars.

The £60,000 sculpture remembering the heroics of the Women’s Land Army has been erected in Moray, on land provided by the Crown Estate.

The tribute at Clochan, near Fochabers, will be unveiled by Charles on Tuesday.

He will also meet Land Girls and artist Peter Naylor, who designed the sculpture.

Chairman of the Land Army Memorial Trust Jim McLaren, whose mother was a Land Girl, said it is the first permanent memorial to their achievements.

He said: “Many women received a commemorative medal from the Government in 2007 but we believe that a public monument and the trust’s accompanying educational activities will help to ensure that the WLA’s extraordinary story is preserved forever.”

The monument has also been backed by veteran singer and World War II forces’ sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn.

She said she was pleased their efforts have finally been recognised, adding: “Without the hard work of the Land Army Girls, life would have been much harder than it was.”

Land Girls enabled the country’s farms to be kept in good working order during the wars.

The Women’s Land Army were established in 1917, when 20,000 women were drafted.